As I think back on my college experience, I can safely say it was time well spent. It's funny to think how many lessons are wrapped up in these few years and how many people are now bundled up in this story. However, as the countdown begins, I am not the only one in a pensive mood.
Today I got an email from my dad. Thinking it was probably some kind of reminder to file paperwork or to get my car checked, I didn't think twice about opening it. What I got instead took me quite by surprise! Dad had titled it "Highland", the daycare my sisters and I went to before starting school. In his email he talked about how just this week he went back there for some kind of concert they were hosting. He said being there brought back all kinds of memories about walking me to my classroom, and how he also remembered my last day there. Dad said he remembered watching me walk across the parking lot, how I was a "big girl" and didn't have to hold his hand that day.
Even though my dad and I don't always see eye to eye, I have always known that he's the one to go to when I need help. Even after arguing with him, after showing my most rotten, ugliest self, I can go right back to him and apologize and cry and he'll just hold me and tell me everything's alright. He's known me from before I was born, he's watched me in my joys and in my lowest points, and through it all he's had the particularly toughest of jobs of learning when and how to support me but also how to let me decide how to be.
God's seen more of the backstory for all of us than we'll ever be able to comprehend. He sees the dots and the connections between them, and He is lining things up to make a more wonderful and complex picture than we can even imagine. He is always beautifully supporting us while at the same time allowing us to make some mistakes. I know it's true to say "The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." Deuteronomy 33:27
Dad ended his email by saying this: "As you rush off to live your life don’t forget that my hand is now and always will be there to hold when you need it." I know you mean it, Dad. Trust me.
"Further Up, Further In, and Farther Along."
